Kindergarten Graduation

A quick post before finally heading to bed tonight.  Today was such a special day I just couldn't go to bed without posting!

Today was Brooklyn's Kindergarten Graduation program at school.  Keith and I both took the day off work to attend with James and Loni.  We are so blessed that not only do they invite us, but they genuinely want us to be there.  And Brooklyn's face just lights up when she sees Grandma and Papa there for her. Family is one of the most important things in the world and I hope we're always able to support her in all that she does.

Moving on - and not so deep now - here's a picture of the four of us while waiting for the program to start.  My beautiful daughter-in-law Loni and I sat together, behind us you can see James' in the picture and the silly bunny ear fingers belong to Keith.  Any time we are with the kids there is laughter - and I wouldn't have it any other way.

This is 100% why we were there.  Brooklyn is holding her Kindergarten certificate and kept directing us to different places at school where she wanted her picture taken.  Both of these pictures were taken with my phone, but I have a camera full of photos waiting to be downloaded (and who can wait for that when you're a Grandma wanting to brag a bit???).

The first part of the program was in the cafeteria and each Kindergarten class went on stage one at a time and sang a song.  This worked out perfectly as it gave the parents and guests a little extra room to move up front and take pictures.  Her smile when she saw us up close on our knees with cameras was worth every minute of that sore knee.  ;)

After that program we were dismissed to the students' classrooms.  Brooklyn's teacher, Ms. B, gave out the certificates and an award for each student.  Brooklyn got an Art Award and that came as no surprise to any of us - she LOVES art!  The teacher did such a good job and told a little story about each of the children when they got their award and posed for a minute so we could take pictures.  She said that she was so glad to have a good artist in her classroom because she really cannot draw pictures.  Now when she needs something drawn on the board she asks Brooklyn to do it for her.

I'm sure I'll have a smile on my face while sleeping tonight.   :)

Deep Thoughts:  "You have brains in your head.  You have feet in your shoes.  You can steer yourself, any direction you choose."  Dr. Seuss

Happy 4th of July Card

A local scrapbooking group is starting to do a weekly challenge we're calling My Spin on the Pin.  Our only guideline is that it must be paper crafting related so I'm hoping to get some cards made and ready to send out.

Here's the pin I'm using - http://pinterest.com/pin/82331499410634118/ and here's my card:

4th of July is one of my absolute favorite holidays ever.  For us it's all about getting together and having a grand time with as many family members as want to come along.  We are almost always at the lake for the 4th and that includes decorated golf cart parades, homemade ice cream and swimming.  That night we will have air beds throughout the house, so much so it's almost difficult to walk around!  Just love getting everybody together.  :)

For this card - my stamp punch was a little bigger than the pinned card used, so I only used 3 stars.  I also didn't have any twine, so instead I used pop dots to give it some dimension.  The stamps are from the July Fourth set from Stampin Up.

This is really a lot of fun and I encourage everybody to look through their pins once in a while and do them instead of just collecting them - and I'm saying that for my benefit just as much as anybody else's!

Deep thoughts:  "Good friends are like stars.  You don't always see them, but you know they're always there."

Teacup Succulents

This is part of what I did for my moms for Mother's Day this year.  I absolutely fell in love with them and will soon find teacups to make one for myself!  There is something so dainty and lady-like about a teacup and when you put a miniature plant in it kind of makes you want to swoon.

I checked a nursery and a few other stores for mini succulents, but found exactly what I wanted at Lowe's.  In fact I found all the necessary parts at Lowe's, except for the teacups - those are from Goodwill.

I used this soil, mostly because I'm a rule follower and it says cactus on it.  But I also felt like any good start I can give to these little plants would be a good thing.

The little rocks came in a bag called Soil Cover.  Since I didn't intend to put a hole at the bottom of the cup I figured the rocks would help for drainage.  

I really could see a few of these lined up on my kitchen windowsill.  And the nice thing is that they take very little upkeep.

Deep Thoughts:  "Life is like making tea - boil your ego, evaporate your worries, dilute your sorrows, filter your mistakes and get a taste of happiness." 

Linked to:  Pinworthy Projects, Be Different Act Normal, Sundae Scoop, Funky Junk's Party Junk, Friday Flair Link Party

Dahlia Fold Card

This was such a fun card to make!  I was searching for a card with folds so that I could join a local swap (and then forgot to sign up in time!) and saw this.  I knew immediately that this would be perfect for Mother's Day cards!

I used the video tutorial found at Dawn's Stamping Studio and had no trouble at all making my dahlia.  I used a 1 1/8" circle punch and I think the size worked well for the size of the card.

I made these cards while at a crop with friends and it really does take a village sometimes to make things perfect.  I had purchased some brads for the center of the cards and after making the dahlia I knew they were too big.  Danielle had a lightbulb moment and ran over to go through her bling stash and found the centers - they were perfect!

These were so much fun to make that maybe next time I won't be so intimidated to try something new.  ;)

Supplies Used:  Sentiment is from Messages for Mom set by Stampin' Up; pattern paper for top card in the My Mind's Eye 'The Sweetest Thing - Tangerine' 6x6 paper pad; pattern paper for bottom card in the Teresa Collins 'Vintage Finds' 6x6 paper pad (both paper pads purchased at Michael's); center bling by Danielle

Deep Thoughts:  "Flowers don't worry about how the're going to bloom.  They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful."  Jim Carrey

Pinterest Salad Dinner at Church

Our Women's Ministry at church is starting a new monthly get together with just some fun topics and an opportunity to fellowship and get to know one another.  Last night was the first and the topic was "How to Use Pinterest." Now y'all know that I'm already a big fan of Pinterest, but that didn't keep me from going and having a grand time.

We had a potluck "Pinterest" salad dinner and I of course whipped out my phone to take a couple of quick pictures.  I didn't snap all the food and it's not because it wasn't fantastic.  But I did want to share both of these because I was just so impressed with the presentation.

I loved this take on the classic melon balls.  She used the standard three melons, but then put them inside a hollowed out half a lemon and added a mint leaf!  Not only were they super cute, but each bite had a slight hint of lemon flavor.

Another fruit bowl, this time with a bowl made of chocolate!  She filled them with berries, a dollop of whipped cream, mint leaf and a piroutte cookie.

Deep Thoughts:  "You can't buy Happiness, but you CAN buy Donuts.  And that's kind of the same thing."

Wedding Shawl Progressing

However...

See the blob of yarn?  This is an example of one step forward, two steps back.  This shawl pattern (Shetland Triangle Lace Shawl by Evelyn Clark) has 'rest' rows of all purl on the odd rows and it was at the end of one of those rows that I found a mistake on the previous pattern row.  I used my crazy fixin' skills to try and avoid going back, but I really wasn't totally satisfied with the way it looked.  Back it went and this is the result.

I will say though that this is by far one of the most enjoyable things I've knit in a long time.  I'm using Venezia Sport by Cascade Yarns (Mmmm....silk) and it's just a joy to knit.

Onward and upward!

Deep Thoughts:  To live a creative life we must first lose our fear of being wrong